South Beloit lot likely to be sold, not become park

SOUTH BELOIT — Environmental concerns will likely quash plans to develop a park in a vacant lot next to the fire station at Blackhawk Boulevard and Gardner Street.

Greg Stanley

SOUTH BELOIT — Environmental concerns will likely quash plans to develop a park in a vacant lot next to the fire station at Blackhawk Boulevard and Gardner Street.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has notified city officials that necessary cleanup work, which began in 2004, has not been completed.

It will take up to two more years to finish cleaning the site, and the city may have to take out a federal loan to pay for the work, Mayor Mike Duffy said.

Once the work is done, the city will sell the property to pay off the loan.

The 8-acre lot was home to the PrimeCast Foundry until 2001. The foundry was once South Beloit’s second-largest employer and produced ductile, gray iron and stainless steel castings for nearly 43 years. After the foundry closed, the land was declared a brownfield site — an abandoned industrial area that might be contaminated with chemicals or other pollutants.

In 2004, the IEPA awarded the city a $120,000 grant to demolish the empty foundry and clean up the site.

It was originally hoped that a business would move in, but the site has sat vacant since the foundry was razed.

In June, the City Council, tired of seeing the land sit idle, gave the go-ahead to turn the lot into a park. It held a small groundbreaking ceremony and touted plans to build a playground, gazebo, running path and several fitness stations.

“We have to jump through a bunch of hoops, fill out forms and apply for grants to get the site finished up,” Duffy said. “What we have to do is bring in three or four feet of good, clean soil to put over the top, grade it and put the land up for sale.”

Even without a park, the city will come out ahead if a business opens at the site after the cleanup work is finished.

“Either way, it’s a win-win,” Duffy said. “We want to dress up the place and put in something good. That will happen. It’s unfortunate the way it’s unraveled. It’s a shame it hadn’t been taken care of before. It’s still an excellent piece of location, and hopefully we’ll get it shaped up and sold.”